But then again, cut flowers can only last for a few days to maybe over a week. The same goes true for sprigs of leaves. And well, unless the fruits are made of plastic, they’re always best eaten. So if you really want to add a bit more life to your home, planting a garden or carefully planning your landscape could possibly be the only renovation you need.

As with any part of your home though, acting on impulse without giving decisions ample consideration could easily lead to some designing disasters. Some things you might want to consider when planning your landscape are the following:

- the amount of time and money you’re willing to invest
- the general weather and/or climate of your vicinity
- access to water
- space considerations

These are very basic but very important because you don’t want your garden to a) die on you, b) overpower your home, or c) cause more trouble than necessary. So before you burn cash on a paint job or renovations look around you first and think about what you see. Maybe a little landscaping job is all you need after all.

Photo credits: Craig Pitts

Many designers suggest using carefully placed bits and pieces in your rooms to add a touch of character to your surroundings. Most commonly used are large and often colorful coffee table books that speak volumes of your interests while adding an interesting – and not to mention – interactive piece of accent to your receiving areas.

You could also consider color-coding your books on the shelf, stacking books on an end table to add a bit of texture, or even commissioning a painting inspired by your favorite read. There truly are a lot you can do with a little help from the books.

Photo credits: Steve Woods

The bathroom is a damp place where molds accumulate easily. Molds on the tiles are easy to remove – you just scrub them off. It is a different story, however, when molds cultivate on the shower curtain. Granting that the molds are wiped away, the stains left by the molds remain.

The most practical solution is to prevent their cultivation by keeping the curtains dry. After taking a shower, always spread out the curtain before leaving the bathroom. This way, the curtain dries faster preventing the mold growth since they are dependent on moisture.

Unnecessary cleaning is avoided and the useful life of the shower curtain is prolonged at no cost.

The architectural inspiration, the curves and corners, and the colors of the house speak volumes, if you would only listen. As such, unless you’re willing to completely re-paint the entire house or renovate room after room, it would be a good idea to get to know your home before you do some major decorating.

Take a pen and paper, get to know your home, and see where your little bonding session would take you.

Photo credits: Sxc.hu

Don Vandervort continues:

Cut and remove the damaged wallpaper as far back as a seam, a corner or to the least visible part of the design, such as a line in the pattern. Be careful not to pull away the drywall’s paper covering when you remove the wallpaper. To make a patch, cut a square larger than the existing area to be patched and align the pattern. Use masking tape or tacks to attach the patch to the wall. Cut through the patch and the wallpaper with a utility knife and straightedge as shown below left. Put the patch aside and dampen the wallpaper with a wet sponge. It should peel right off. Clean the wall, letting it dry. Spread a thin layer of adhesive to the back of the patch and carefully put it in place on the wall as shown below right. Use a seam roller to smooth it gently but firmly in place. Quickly wipe away any adhesive that spreads onto the surrounding wallpaper.

Don Vandervort says:

Many wallpaper repair jobs require patching with a matching piece of wallpaper. For this reason, when installing wallpaper, it’s always a good idea to save some for repairs!
As wallpaper ages, it tears, its edges work loose, and bubbles appear beneath the paper. Although much contemporary wallpaper is washable, older papers may not be and may become dirtier than you can tolerate. Sometimes repair is possible but in other cases the only solution is to patch or replace the damaged wallpaper. Tears and loose edges are part of normal household wear and tear. Bubbles in wallpaper may be an indication that whoever applied it did not use enough glue in some places or use a roller to press it close to the wall. Bubbles may also be an indication of moisture problems in the wall beneath–take a close look before you repair bubbles in wallpaper.

So how can you achieve all that? For starters, you can invest in multi-purpose items such as a TV shelf with provisions for video players and even DVDs. Choosing a piece that’s both aesthetic and multi-functional not only saves you money, it also helps make your home better organized.

How about you? Any suggestions on how you can best maximize space?

Photo credits: Chris Scott

One of the best things that you can do even in your small garden is to grow fruit trees. Fruit trees are both ornamental and useful. They are a sight to behold when they blossom. They provide shade and delicious and nutritious fruits, free from arsenic and other chemicals that are added to fruits in order to extend shelf life.

To enhance the beauty of your home, consider the landscape before choosing the site for planting. You can have one or more trees. The slope of the land and the wind activity in your area should also be considered. Grow fruit trees and experience how they can liven up your home and your life.

In using appliances for the first time, read the manual and follow the instructions stated therein. If you think that you already know how to use such appliance, scanning the manual is still advisable since the appliance that you bought might have its own different specification. This is not just to avoid any accident but also to preserve that warranty of the product which you could avail in case the product proved to be actually defective and not because of your negligence. In any case, do not disregard the special instructions for the specific parts of the product.

Make it a habit also of unplugging your appliances especially the heat producing pieces. And if you will be away from home for a long time, unplug all appliances before leaving the house.

Electrical cord extensions are used in the enabling your house’s outlets to accommodate several appliances at the same time. The use of extension is discouraged because it might overload your power supply, especially its full usage. If your power supply is overloaded, it might catch fire.

So in designing your home, anticipate the appliances that shall be placed in a particular area of your home such that the sufficient number of outlets shall be placed accordingly. If you haven’t anticipated the number of appliances that shall be placed and they had exceeded the number of outlets available, have an additional number of outlets be placed in your home to prevent overloading.